Of course the color concept album isn't a newconcept. I mean, who didn't exhaustively play their college radio station's only copy of Ken Nordine's Colors until the other DJs complained? In that album, Nordine uses Word Jazz to explore Chartreuse's bad case of wanderlust, Maroon's rhyme-ability, and Purple's royal pomp. It was listening to this album that I first discovered what makes concept albums so great. At their best, they use a creative focus to sonically reveal secret hues and tones of the physical world.

Turner's Kaleidoscope has that very effect. Listen close and you'll learn that Magenta is a princess that needs saving, Green is the color of free, White is humble yet illuminating, and Blue is, as always, all about feeling.